NI's older people at bottom of UK income league

The Department of Social Development has just shone its annual spotlight on pensioner incomes in Northern Ireland.

Here are some interesting facts of life for pensioners in Northern Ireland today:

You’re likely to be worse off as a single pensioner, rather than part of a pensioner couple.

If you are a single, in terms of income you’re better off being a man than a woman.

You’re better off as a younger pensioner (in your 60s) than as an over-75.

The fact is that our single pensioners had the lowest median gross income of all regions of the UK, over the past three years. Our single pensioner’s median weekly income was £279, bottom of the pile behind Wales (£291), Scotland (£299), and England (£325), and a full £50 a week short of the UK average of £319.

For single pensioners, the median net weekly income, after housing costs, in Northern Ireland was £203. This is a similar level, in real terms, to the levels 10 years ago in 2003/04.

Our pensioner couples fare slightly better in the UK comparison, coming out ahead of their Welsh counterparts with a weekly gross income of £583, compared to £562 in Wales, but lagging far behind Scotland (£653), England (£678) and the United Kingdom average of £667.